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Nightwings News: Volume 6, Number 1 - Fall 2003
NEWCOMER INFORMATIONWe hope to include an introduction forum as part of the newsletter. If you are new to the south region let us know, we would like the opportunity to introduce you to the other bat researchers and conservationists in our region. Welcome to Erin! Erin Guinn has recently moved to our region from California. Hello All! My name is Erin Guinn, and I have recently joined the Endangered Species Branch on Fort Bragg as a Wildlife Biologist. Fort Bragg is located in the beautiful Sandhills portion of North Carolina. I am originally from the Los Angeles Area (San Pedro, the port city of LA, for those familiar with the area). As a child, I also had the opportunity to live on a farm for several years and have always been fascinated with wildlife and the world around me. Having an environmental scientist/educator for a father, my interest was always encouraged. I attended Brigham Young University, and graduated in 2001 with my Bachelor's in Wildlife Biology and a minor in Communications. My first exposure to the world of bats occurred when I worked as a technician for a Masters student studying habitat utilization of the Townsend's Big-eared Bat in Idaho. After that, I worked for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources doing small mammal trapping, vegetation surveys, raptor banding and monitoring, and mist netting both migratory and non-migratory birds at MAPS stations across the state. Most recently I worked at Camp Roberts, an Army National Guard installation in Central California, where I primarily worked on the endangered San Joaquin kit fox monitoring program, and monitored bat boxes for the past year. I have been at Fort Bragg for a little over 4 months now, and am looking forward to yet again working with bats. Though I primarily work with the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, I will also be doing baseline data collection on Fort Bragg in an effort to inventory species of bats present. Based on our findings, future research needs can be identified and pursued. I look forward to being a part of this process, continuing to grow as a professional, and am excited to be reunited again with my first love: bats.  THE OUACHITA MOUNTAINS BAT BLITZFollowing the success of the Great Smoky Mountain Bat Blitz in 2001, the U.S. Forest Service, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network sponsored a second Bat Blitz in 2003. Volunteer biologists from state and federal agencies, universities, and private companies from 9 states came together in the Ouachita National Forest of western Arkansas to learn as much as possible about the bat fauna of the area while sharing techniques with each other. From August 4-7, 2003 a total of 209 bats, including 156 red bats (Lasiurus borealis), 25 eastern pipistrelles (Pipistrellus subflavus), 16 evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis), 7 northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), and 5 big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) were captured at 22 sites on streams and roads in 4 Ranger Districts. Blood, DNA, feces, and hair samples from captured bats were collected to aid in ongoing research projects. In order to generate positive publicity for bats, one evening was designated as ³media night² and representatives from Arkansası statewide newspaper and 7 television stations from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee attended trapping sessions.  Click on image for larger view THIS YEAR'S SBDN MEETINGThe 8th annual SBDN and 13th annual Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals in the SE US was held Feb. 20 and 21, 2003 in Starkville, MS on the campus of Mississippi State University. The meeting, sponsored by the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State and Weyerhaeuser Company, featured 31 solicited paper presentations and 8 solicited posters covering a wide range of topics_newsletter dealing with mammal conservation in the SE U.S. There were also 4 invited presentations and a panel discussion for a special session entitled, "Development and analyses of habitat data for forest bats". The "Best Student Paper" award went to Karen Francl (Univ. of Georgia) for her presentation entitled, "Genetic relationships of meadow vole populations in central Appalachian wetlands". Her co-authors were Travis Glenn (Savannah River Ecology Lab), Dr. Steven Castleberry (Univ. of Georgia), and Dr. Mark Ford (USDA Forest Service). The SBDN held their annual business meeting as part of this meeting. For a copy of the 2003 meeting proceedings, contact Dr. Darren Miller (662-245-5249, darren.miller@weyerhaeuser.com). ELECTIONS FOR SBDNElections for SBDN officers were held during the February meeting of the SBDN. President: Jeff Gore, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Vice President/President Elect: Troy Best, Auburn University Treasurer: Tim Carter, Southern Illinois University
Departing Board Members: Troy Best from Auburn University and Mick Harvey from Tennessee Tech. Our sincere appreciation goes to Troy and Mick for their efforts. UPCOMING MEETINGSThe 9th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network and the 13th Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States will be held February 12-13, 2004 at Unicoi State Park near Helen, Georgia. The deadline for abstract submission for the Colloquium will be January 9th. See Meetings for more information. The 33rd Annual North American Symposium on Bat Research will meet in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, 8-11 October 2003, hosted by Patricia (Trish) Freeman (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources and the University of Nebraska State Museum). All formal sessions of the 33rd Symposium will be held at the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln, which is located within easy walking distance of a number of downtown restaurants, pubs, and other attractions. We have obtained great room rates for conference attendees at the Cornhusker. Trish has arranged a number of special events for the symposium. For those of you who attended the 20th NASBR in Lincoln, Nebraska, you will undoubtedly remember what a wonderful venue the Cornhusker was, and what a really nice city Lincoln was. And both still are. This promises to be another memorable symposium in Lincoln, Nebraska! For more information please check out the website at http://www.nasbr.org/. The 2nd North American Symposium-Workshop on Bats & Forests will be held from March 9-12, 2004, at the Arlington Resort & Spa in Hot Springs, AR. There will be invited speakers, limited open papers selected by region and topic, an open poster session, and a goal-oriented half-day facilitated break-out session on several pre-assigned issues/topics_newsletter. The proceedings will be available as a published text, and hopefully as a technical handbook as well. See Meetings for more information. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDOn February 20,2003 a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Michael J. "Mick" Harvey. Dr. Harvey was recognized by the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network for his lifetime commitment to bat research and conservation activities in the Southeastern United States. The award was presented during the 8th annual SBDN and 13th annual Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals. Dr. Harvey was born in Chicago, IL and attended Eastern Illinois University on a track and field scholarship where he earned 6 letters in track and field. He was also a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He received his BS in 1958. Dr. Harvey and his wife, Lora, were married in 1961. They moved to Nacogdoches, TX where he attended Stephen F. Austin University for his M.S. under Dr. Robert Packard. In 1966 he joined the faculty of Memphis State University and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of Kentucky where he worked under Dr. Roger Barbour. Dr. Harvey became Professor of Biology at Memphis State in 1975 and in 1985 moved to Tennessee Tech University as Biology Department Chair where he is now a Professor Emeritus and Senior Affiliate Faculty member. Mick and Lora have two sons, Richard and Doug. IN MEMORIAMDr. John A. Sealander, Professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Arkansas, passed away September 16, 2003 in Rogers, Arkansas. Born in Detroit Lakes, Michigan in 1917, he served in World War II after which he received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Illinois. He joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas in the early 1950s and was the author of numerous natural history articles and wrote the definitive book on mammalogy in Arkansas. Dr. Sealander worked with bats throughout his career and was responsible for the state's first large scale survey of cave bats as well as the first documentation of the presence of Small-footed bats, Silver-haired bats, Seminole bats, and Brazilian free-tailed bats in Arkansas. He also served as a special fellow for the U.S. Public Health Service at the Institute of Arctic Biology. We extend our deepest sympathy to Dr. Sealander's loved ones. |
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